Accenture PLC (ACN) Reaches New 52-Week High at $136.65

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $136.65 and last traded at $136.65, with a volume of 641,934 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $136.23.

A number of analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Accenture PLC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Cowen and Company increased their target price on Accenture PLC from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. SunTrust Banks, Inc. cut Accenture PLC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $122.15 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Accenture PLC in a report on Monday, May 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Accenture PLC in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.33.

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The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.35. The stock has a market cap of $84.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.52. The firm had revenue of $8.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. Accenture PLC had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 43.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post $5.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, insider Richard Lumb sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.26, for a total transaction of $284,372.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,383,620.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Johan Deblaere sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.99, for a total transaction of $614,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 126,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,548,026.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,817 shares of company stock worth $9,920,929 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC by 2,139.5% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 39,462,967 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,730,821,000 after purchasing an additional 37,700,871 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Accenture PLC by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,379,397 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,679,843,000 after acquiring an additional 2,749,896 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Accenture PLC by 2,531.4% in the 2nd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,520,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $311,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424,888 shares during the last quarter. BT Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Accenture PLC in the 2nd quarter worth $220,158,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Accenture PLC by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,583,126 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,587,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,262 shares during the last quarter. 77.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Accenture PLC Company Profile

Accenture plc is a professional services company serving clients in various industries and in geographic regions, including North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The Company provides management and technology consulting services. Its segments include Communications, Media and Technology; Financial Services; Health and Public Service; Products, and Resources.